Little did she know...

a year ago i was excited to the point of no sleep, checking off endless mental lists, second guessing packing, wondering what in the world i had gotten myself into, so stoked to be getting on a plane to Joburg.  nothing i had read or watched or asked about could prepare me for the exchange of Google maps for tangible streets. i spent some exciting days at SIM headquarters in Charlotte, NC getting debriefed and prayed for and encouraged and cautioned and discipled in preparation for leaving the US and being immersed in a different culture halfway across the world. i was about to leave the country and the people that i knew best for a whole different way of life. at the start, three months seemed like a forever long period of time. however, by the last week of craziness in the life that i had adapted to, three months seemed like i had blinked and suddenly it was over. nothing had prepared me for coming. nothing could prepare me for leaving. it was one of the hardest weeks of ...

somehow, i still get astonished at leaves changing color. people in school. cool mornings. pumpkin spice lattes. how can it be that summer is actually over? yet the reality that september itself is practically over keeps slapping me in the face. ready or not, here comes fall! summer was a crazy blur. one of my friends laughed at me for saying "i have been busy. but i am not entirely sure what all i have been doing." it's been road trips and weddings and flights and reunions and family and friends and routine and swapping work schedules and building relationships and quality time with teenagers and camping and hikes and goodbyes. it's been good. but crazy. if someone were to ask me what my definition of summer is it would sound a little like this: it's nights still too warm. a breeze on my bare arms. river wading. stars, lots of stars. it's the sway of the hammock and reading by christmas lights on the back patio. it's long walks and talk...